


Red Threads

by ZereldaMarx035



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies), bechloe - Fandom, staubrey - Fandom, various - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate setting - everything under the sun, F/F, One Shot Collection, bechloe - Freeform, staubrey - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:15:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29552694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZereldaMarx035/pseuds/ZereldaMarx035
Summary: A collection of one-shots that I will slowly string together to form some semblance of a coherent plot, maybe. Welcome to the Staubrey Multiverse, or Staubreyverse, for short.
Relationships: Ashley Jones/Jessica Smith, Benji Applebaum/Emily Junk, Bumper Allen/Fat Amy, Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell, Donald/Lilly (Pitch Perfect), OC/OC, Stacie Conrad/Aubrey Posen
Comments: 9
Kudos: 30





	1. Introduction

We understand time from a linear perspective. We see it as a one-way line taking us from point A to point B, and we see it like that because: how else would our brains process the many events that happen and cannot be changed? We look at life and the many instances of its passage as a constant cause and effect. If this happens then that will, and time will carry that event out as a dependent variable. I however beg to differ. Instead, I offer a different theory, one I like to nickname the RPG theory. The idea that some events in your life are simply totalities of your life. Unavoidable pros and cons that life offers as you go about your daily activities. I argue that some aspects of our lives are unavoidable, determined by unforeseen or uncontrollable factors. Something in the time stream is cemented in that point, and there’s no going around it. I choose to believe that those immovable blips are people. Their choices in how they treat you may be fluid in time, springing off a multitude of futures that slip into the weaving tapestry that is the universe and its infinite wisdom. Yet, I believe that meeting some people is an unavoidable segment of your life. 

Now, you may be wondering what this has to do with anything, but bear with me. I have a lot of thoughts in my “pretty” head, and you need to know them to fully grasp what I’m trying to explain. After all, it’s all connected. Me, the people I touch along the way, Aubrey, you name it. We go by different names and have different dreams but the totality of our existence amounts to how much “good” we can put out into the universe. Good being a relative term, mostly, but highly dissuading events such as rape or murder. Our choices are our own, but who we’re supposed to meet along the way isn’t, or at least not always. 

Think about it. The circumstances that line you up to meet that person at the exact moment, whether they become your best friend or your greatest enemy. Your lover or your heartbreak. The history in us that stacks up creates a universe that is seen wholly from the unique perspective of the viewer. In a way, it’s kind of Aca-Awesome. In a way it makes me feel infinitely small, yet it also makes me feel completely in focus. 

Yet this is a story of how timing is everything, yet who a person is can cement them in your existence forever. Regardless of when or where some people are bound by the particles of the universe. Their very molecules tying them together for the entirety of the universe’s existence. This is a story of love not being enough, or being everything. It’s a story of the dark side and the light. It’s hope and despair. It’s life. It’s what you want or hates. At the end of the day, it’s what you make of it.


	2. Too pretty to be murdered - Red Courts and Succubi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A party gets out of control and some memories get dredged up for Aubrey as she realizes she may have met the tall brunette before.

The world was changing and it was changing fast. Not only was there the beginnings of a war taking place amongst the vampire covens around the world, but there was also some form of schism in the ranks of the Hunters. Something that had the world of the Fae on high alert. Aubrey sighed as she surveyed the room. She was currently in her apartment with humans milling about under compulsion. A trick that her siblings seemed to enjoy, even though they weren’t always quite gifted at it. 

“Come on Bree, have some fun!” Morgan implored her, their red eyes widened in the best version of a demented pouty face they could muster. 

“I think I’ll pass, Luciana won’t want me blood drunk these days;” Aubrey groaned. 

Aubrey had taken up a position as the southeastern clan’s liaison, something that her siblings were all too eager to avoid. As the eldest vampire there, she was the only one truly suited for the job. 

“Come on Bree, I invited a couple of friends too! I heard they might bring a succubus.” Morgan was practically vibrating with excitement. Aubrey rolled her eyes. 

“Great, try to keep the succubus to one of the bedrooms, I know what they can do, and if you get a particularly powerful one, they’re going to make the entire building sexually frustrated if you all don’t watch it.” 

“Will do,” Morgan agreed with an attempt at a flirtatious wink. 

Aubrey sighed, it was going to be a long night. 

…

The small party kicked off relatively easily. In attendance were one wood elf, a werewolf, two more vampires, and a hunter deserter that called herself Fat Amy. When the succubus didn’t show Aubrey was nothing short of relieved since she had been wary of succubi since the Paris incident of 1846. One night of drunken debauchery was enough to last her the next two centuries. 

Morgan had turned on music for everyone before ordering food for the werewolf and wood elf. Wood elves were particularly hard to order for considering the ancient rites they required for any animal product. Werewolves on the other hand were relatively easy if it’s meat: make it rare, if it’s anything else, it’s open season. 

The wood elf in attendance was none other than a woman named Lily Onakurmura, who had a tendency to whisper everything she said. If it weren’t for vampiric hearing, Aubrey would not have heard a single word. 

A knock on the door broke off the blonde vampire’s attention as she flitted to the door and peered through the peephole. Two brunettes stood outside, one of which Aubrey recognized as her friend, Chloe’s, mate: a werewolf named Beca. Along with a taller person whose low cut top took up most of the view. Aubrey pulled open the door.

“Hello Hobbit,” Aubrey greeted Beca dryly. 

“Watch it, Posen, just because my pack is on good terms with you doesn’t mean that I won’t lay you out;” Beca drawled. 

“Who’s this?” Aubrey inquired as her eyes settled on the taller brunette beside Beca. 

Aubrey’s inquiry was met with a wave of seductive energy that had Aubrey’s head spinning for a second. “Fuck, succubus;” Aubrey groaned as her pulse picked up and the mood in the room took a sudden turn. She saw Morgan making out with one of the humans as the two other vampires seemed to follow suit. 

“If I let you in can you turn the aura down a notch? I’m not trying to have an orgy in my living room.” 

“Sorry,” the tall brunette said with a wink. She didn’t sound sorry at all. 

“Beca, what are you doing here?” Posen inquired, the room temperature felt infinitely cooler as the flat occupants all snapped out of their sex-crazed daze. 

“We were invited by Morgan, figured we would pop in.” 

“Where’s Chloe?” Aubrey asked, hoping her best friend would be there. 

“Dealing with some witch business, as usual,” Beca answered with a shrug. 

“Can we come in?” The succubus requested with a positively wolfish grin. Aubrey made a note to inquire into whether the girl had werewolf lineage later. 

“Fine, might as well. I didn’t need sleep anyway.” 

Aubrey stood to the side and gestured for them to enter, a formal invitation wasn’t required for their kind, unlike vampires. “Did you ever have an instance where you needed to get into a house and you weren’t invited in?” The tall brunette asked. 

Aubrey thought for a moment before answering, “I haven’t but my sire got so mad at some house occupants that he grabbed a car and threw it through the wall.” 

“Dude, no;” Beca gawped.  
“Alaric wasn’t always the most level-headed member of the great council.” Aubrey’s comment was met by chuckles from her fellows and a couple of raised glasses. 

“How many of you did he sire?” Beca asked. 

“I don’t know, I just know I was somewhere in the top thirty, he said I reminded him of what his wife looked like when she was younger.” Aubrey blinked for a moment, surprised she was talking about it so easily since her relationship with Alaric was fraught with issues. 

“Stop doing that,” Aubrey snapped, her gaze settled on the succubus who smiled impishly. 

“Sorry, when people are feeling intimate they’re usually more honest. It’s hard to shut off.” 

“Well make a better effort.” Aubrey griped. 

“Can do captain,” Stacie replied with a flirtatious wink. 

…

The night blurred by in a swirl of alcohol and blood as Aubrey surveyed the quickly thickening crowd of guests. More than a few members of the Fae community made an appearance, so eventually, Aubrey made an escape up to the roof of the building. Especially since more than a few succubi arrived and the atmosphere of the place was getting too chummy for Aubrey’s taste. To her surprise, she found the tall brunette from earlier sitting on the edge of the rooftop, a Glass of wine in hand. 

“What are you doing up here?” Aubrey queried, she was perplexed. Succubi never turned down a good party, especially when their energy turned the affair into pure sex. The only other being that could rival a succubus or incubus in party culture was Bacchus himself. Not that she had seen the Olympian lately. Supposedly he was in Vegas, feeding on the debauchery of the area. 

“You really don’t remember me, do you?” The brunette chuckled, her green-blue eyes met Aubrey’s with a hint of mirth and something else. 

“No, should I?’ Aubrey approached, hitching a leg over the side of the wall to face the taller woman. 

“We met at the beginning of the twentieth century, I’ll admit though, your control was lacking around that time.” 

Aubrey grimaced for a moment, perplexed. Stacie sighed, “Anastacia? Russia, 1920’s” 

Aubrey’s eyes widened in surprise, something Stacie mistook for recognition.

“There we go, it’s just Stacie now.”

“The long-lost princess of Russia goes by Stacie, that’s an interesting drop in prestige;” Aubrey chuckled, not really bothering to correct the taller girl’s assumption at first. 

“Ouch,” Stacie winced in mock offense. “At least tell me you missed me?” 

“Sorry?” Aubrey shrugged. 

“You still don’t remember me, huh?” Stacie said. 

“Not quite, no;” Aubrey sighed.

Of course, Stacie was not really that surprised considering Aubrey’s state when they had met. Stacie didn't know it yet but Aubrey used to be the golden daughter of Alaric the Reaper, also known as the Vampire Baron. She did everything Daddy dearest said, or at least she used to. She used to reside in court with Luciana after the great Mage wars of the early eighteen hundreds. Back when the Witches and Warlocks of the century had risen up in defiance of the vampire’s and hunter’s alternating power grabs. 

She had met Chloe during those days, the witch had unbound Aubrey from the curse of her predecessors. They had been friends ever since. Even though Aubrey’s behavior upon release was less than cordial to those that were not a member of the vampire race, or Chloe. In fact, she had become something of a terror in 1800’s France, leaving a swath of destruction through the area. 

The fact of the matter was, she had become lost in the blood haze. Something that beginning vampires often succumbed to and Aubrey had definitely earned her nickname as the Reaper’s Daughter. The terror she left in her wake had only been calmed by Luciana, something she was wont to part with when she was sent to look after the Southeastern Coven of the new world. 

“I met you during my relapse,” Aubrey noted aloud. 

“Yeah, I guess so,” Stacie smirked as the girl seemed to remember something. 

“You actually tried to feed on me when we met,” Stacie chuckled. 

Aubrey’s eyes widened in slight horror for a moment, “I tried to kill you?” 

“Feed, I said feed;” Stacie clarified.

“Back then feed and kill was synonymous;” Aubrey retorted. 

“Not for me,” Stacie grinned, “You said I was too pretty to murder.” 

Aubrey’s brow furrowed for a moment at the lost princess’s words. “I -” 

Stacie waved a hand dismissively before taking a drought from her wine glass. “It’s okay Aubrey, we had a fun night. It’s just a shame you don’t remember it. Besides, I think I helped you keep a couple of humans alive, especially since I kept you occupied doing other things.” 

If Aubrey could blush she would have, especially since she had no recollection of what Stacie was talking about. “We?”

“Oh yeah, but again, don’t worry about it. I’ve been alive long enough to know what a blood haze does. You guys really can’t stop, it’s like an addiction. Brain chemical imbalances make your body crave blood all the time, you can’t help it. It’s not like we can send your kind to vampire rehab, either.”

“They have support groups in the capitol;” Aubrey shrugged. 

Stacie blinked for a moment, “You have - what?”

“Bahek runs it,” Aubrey said in a way of explanation. “He understands the blood haze well, he says his fathers had it.” 

Stacie laughed as she imagined the great right hand of the Red Court running group therapy for overprivileged vampires. “That must be so strange, to be made and not born. You were human once, but now you’re one of us.” 

“One of you that’s immortal and can’t die from anything but violence,” Aubrey quipped. 

“And sunlight in that first decade,” Stacie teased. 

Aubrey rolled her eyes, “That was a nightmare, also the time varies depending on how far down the line of succession you are.”

Stacie snorted, “Line of succession? Like Luciana is going to die?” 

“Hopefully not, she’s not as bad as people make her out to be;” Aubrey commented. “It’s not like vampire kind would survive without her either.” 

“Yeah, and you’re too pretty to be murdered;” Stacie winked.


	3. The pains of victory - Hunger Games AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The newest victor of the Hunger Games is Anastacia Conrad.

Anastacia Conrad was the name of the winner of the 69th Hunger Games. Aubrey took a deep draught from her cup at the Capitol bar. The image of her tribute dying in electric spasms was still imprinted on the back of her eyelids. Her father was not going to be happy, not because someone died. That wasn’t important. No, he would be absolutely furious about District 2 falling short of victory, again. Ever since Aubrey won District 2 had been having a bad go of things. It was death after death for their tributes, seven years running. The fact that her tribute, a promising boy named Gaius, had fallen in battle to a girl from District 3 would not go over well. 

“I’ll have what she’s having,” A voice sounded over her shoulder. 

Aubrey turned to see her best friend, Chloe Beale. “Hey, you’re still in the Capitol?”

“Yeah, I’m not ready to give Marina’s Mom my condolences,” Chloe answered. The bartender with the mohawk and overly large neon lip ring slid a margarita across the bar and into the redhead’s waiting hand. 

“Never gets easier, huh;” Chloe sighed. 

“Nope,” Aubrey mused, considering her glass. 

Chloe had been the first tribute to beat one of Aubrey’s mentees. Winning at the age of fifteen, she had impressed the game makers with her bubbly attitude and astute survival skills. It helped that the arena was an aqua-based landscape of deep lagoons and scattered islands. Bets had been through the roof in favor of District 4. It was a shame when the tsunami came and wiped out the remaining tributes, leaving Chloe to fight her district partner to the death. 

Half in love with the redhead, Chicago had killed himself instead of raising a hand against Chloe. This romantic conclusion had won Chloe the nickname of The Siren. Something that led to a plethora of seashell and mermaid fashion throughout the Capitol. Aubrey had tried to hold a grudge but Chloe’s warm personality belied any ill will Aubrey could have mustered. 

“She’s going to need help,” Chloe muttered, gesturing at the screen. 

Aubrey turned to watch the recap of Anastacia’s interview. The crowd loved her. The girl was smart, proving her skill with engineering and mechanics time and time again, it didn’t hurt that Ms.Conrad was positively the most beautiful woman Aubrey had ever laid eyes on. If Anastacia hadn’t shown her mechanical prowess, Aubrey would have thought she was from District 1. Now that Anastacia had gotten out of the games, the looks that saved her were about to be her curse. 

“I always feel bad for the pretty ones,” Aubrey sighed. 

“Yeah, there’s plenty of sorrow to spread around this place;” Chloe’s words were barely audible over her cup but years of auditory training allowed Aubrey to pick it up. 

“Careful, just because our new fellow victor has trouble on her head doesn’t mean that we need any on yours;” Aubrey warned. 

Taking one last sip of her drink, Aubrey slapped some money on the bartop and got up to leave. Squeezing Chloe’s shoulder on the way out, Anastacia’s face flashed in her mind as dread settled deep in her gut. That girl was going to be trouble, she was sure of it. 

…

It was the victory tour when Aubrey finally met Anastacia in person. The girl had garnered a reputation amongst the Districts and Capitol. Collecting gifts and favors from her patrons, Anastacia Conrad was the one to watch. They were having dinner in the town hall where Aubrey was seated directly beside the newcomer. She was far from pleased about it. 

Despite the rumors that Anastacia’s personality was as lovely as her appearance, Aubrey couldn’t shake the feeling that Anastacia was doing her best to snub District 2. Not only had the new victor been late to every gathering, but her speech seemed to be filled with puns that hinted at Gaius’s end. While Gaius was admittedly a bit of an ass, no one deserved to have their death brought down to a cheap footnote at the end of a victory speech. Especially by the very person that killed him. 

The dinner had devolved into a party where the banquet tables were pushed aside for dancing and music. Aubrey had gotten a dance with her father briefly before switching to Thomas, Chloe’s on and off again boyfriend, and then her brother. 

“Miss High and Mighty have left the building,” Jason muttered into Aubrey’s ear. 

Aubrey glanced around briefly, confirming that the tall brunette in question was indeed gone. “She couldn’t have gotten too far. They never let victors have too much fun.”

Her brother nodded in agreement before spinning her away and back in for a dip. “Maybe The Hunter has gone to get some air. I know the roof of the justice building is a fan favorite.” 

Aubrey scoffed at the use of the Capitol’s nickname for the new victor. The girl had made one flirtatious comment over a campfire, referring to her crotch as ‘A Hunter’, and now it was everywhere. “I should probably go wrangle her before Dad notices she’s gone;” Jason sighed. 

“I’ll do it, Dad is more likely to notice if you’re gone;” Aubrey said. Jason released her from his grasp, giving her hand a gentle squeeze before she left. “I’ll keep Dad occupied,” he offered as Aubrey trod off in the other direction. 

…

Aubrey arrived on the roof of the building to see The brunette was flat on her back, staring at the stars. Hearing the blonde’s approach, the other girl rolled her head to the side to meet Aubrey’s gaze. “Come to drag me back?” 

“You can’t just leave, President Snow will hear about it and he won’t be happy;” Aubrey replied. 

The younger girl’s jaw tensed, the curvature of her cheekbones sharpened for a moment before finally relaxing. “If he kills anyone he won’t have any leverage, I only have my brothers anyway. He’ll give me a break on this.” 

Aubrey snorted but relented. She turned to leave for a moment but a voice in her head told her not to. The other victor’s look of amazement when Aubrey approached and sat down, cross-legged, beside her was almost comical. 

“Can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em;” Aubrey chuckled humorously. 

“It’s not as though your district has a lot of beating to do, you all seem pretty cozy to me;” The brunette muttered darkly. 

“Yeah, I get that. I was trained for the games since I was old enough to hold a sword. My Dad was a victor, my Mom was a victor, and so on. It’s a family dynasty. My brother went in two games before me, and my little brother Andy is going in this year”

“How can you look forward to this? The decorations, the volunteering? How can you want this?”

“What’s the alternative Anastacia?” 

“Stacie, I hate my full name;” Stacie retorted, although she didn’t have an answer to Aubrey’s question. There wasn’t an alternative. It was: celebrate and prepare for it or dread and mourn it. One you died happily, the other you died miserably. 

“Aubrey ‘The Captain’ Posen;” Stacie mused. “I thought you’d be more of a hardass.” 

“I thought you’d be more of a flirt,” Aubrey retorted. 

“I could if you want me to,” Stacie turned to look at Aubrey again, offering the blonde a lascivious smile and wink. Aubrey almost smiled. 

“Save it for your suitors, I don’t really pay for that stuff anyway.” 

Stacie blinked in surprise at Aubrey’s revelation of knowledge. “How…?” 

“He tried to do it to me two years after I won my games. You’re eighteen now, so you’re fair game. I was sixteen, but he didn’t really care about that.”

“How did you get out of it?” 

Aubrey turned to look at the brunette, thoughtful. Eventually, she decided on her answer. 

“I didn’t, not really. My father runs the peacekeepers, my brother is just like you, and I’m untouched because I lost the one thing that he could take away from me. I bet that all my family members were too valuable and I lost. The only reason I wasn’t called is because of the victors that came after me. I was a hot commodity and now I’m not. I don’t know when I will be again.” 

“So there’s really no hope then,” Stacie’s words come out more like a garbled whisper. Aubrey turned, watching as Stacie’s shoulders shook slightly. 

“I can’t tell you that it doesn’t suck to be a victor. Sometimes I wonder if we’re really the winners. I know it sucks, every victor in their right mind knows that it sucks. All I can tell you is that you find people who help face the terrible world with you. They don’t really make the world better, but at least they’re there to help you keep as many pieces together as possible.” 

Stacie nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. Turning to face the brunette, Aubrey allowed her eyes to linger on Stacie’s face for a moment taking it all in. 

“You’re smart, you’ll get through. Being a victor is a lot of responsibility but I’m sure you’ll manage. And … if you need anything,” Aubrey sighed for a moment, considering the repercussions of the offer but deciding to do it anyway. “Your house has a phone, feel free to call me.” 

“Really?” Stacie exclaimed. 

“Yes, I’ve been a victor for the past seven years, I’m sure I can help you out.”

“Seven years? You’re what, twenty-two? You won at fifteen?”

“Fourteen, youngest ever, I’m twenty-one now,” Aubrey answered. 

Stacie let that information sink in for a moment, thinking. “So, you’re only four years older than me?” 

“Yes?” Aubrey said, perplexed. 

“Well, age is just a number and even then it’s not that large of one. If you ever want to help me out in other ways,” Stacie’s come-on was somewhat detracted from by the red eyes and nose brought on from her crying. That, coupled with the fact that the conversation had taken a complete one-eighty, had Aubrey actually laughing. 

“Hey, don’t laugh, I was trying to be hot, not funny;” Stacie pouted. 

Aubrey only laughed harder, gales of laughter that rang through the air as a grin stretched across Stacie’s face. The brunette had to admit, being a victor so far had sucked, but right now; life didn’t feel too bad.


	4. Operation Fact or Fiction - Main

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stacie has a fundamental question for the universe as her dreams drag her to worlds unknown.

Hey, 

My name is Stacie Conrad and I was told that I would be meeting you in three years. This might sound crazy, but I think I’ve been drawn to you since I was a child. Even though we haven’t met yet, I see you in all my dreams and every moment I feel at my weakest. I think I miss you, and I don’t even know you. I know I want to though, I know there’s some strand of fate tying us and -

Stacie groaned and stopped writing. Crumbling the piece into a ball, she tossed it into the trash can and settled her head on her desk. The nights were getting harder and the dreams more vivid, each one outlining a different story, a different life. She saw some old faces and some new ones, but for all her life she couldn’t remember them. All except for one face that she saw in her dreams, repeatedly. A quandary that had plagued her current days. Sometimes to get the thoughts and dream made memories out she would start to write a letter to the unknown girl, but she always stopped halfway because she felt stupid. 

When Stacie turned eighteen she had a minor accident that left some irreparable head trauma. She couldn’t recognize people, faces turned to mush in her memory. Everyone was a blank slate. Despite this issue, her sex life was hardly influenced. With this freedom of not remembering she took advantage of her circumstances and had something of a healthy sex life. She was happy to forget the face that haunted her dreams every night, leaving tantalizing memories of lives not lived. That is until her friends Jessica and Ashley dragged her to a psychic. 

Now, Stacie was never one to believe in the more mystical matters of the universe, but the medium in question had some surprising details and insights that even Stacie couldn’t scoff at. She had gone in as a joke but walked out surprised and slightly anxious. So, as is her habit, Stacie immediately gathered as much reference material as possible pertaining to any supernatural or mystical mumbo jumbo she could find. 

Whether the psychic read body language or pupil size, Stacie wanted to know. Beca thought she was nuts.

“So you have a mystical three years soulmate?” Beca exclaimed skeptically.

“Meh,” Stacie murmured as she hunched over her laptop. Dozens of links were open for psychic readings around the world, she had introduced herself and sent the same question to every one of them. She was also in the process of coding a simulation with similar suggested variables and seeing if the prophetic advice was even viable. 

Beca was peering over her shoulder with vague curiosity. “You’re nuts, I hope you know that.”

Stacie ignored her friend in exchange for writing out a couple more coding functions. “Do you think you could maybe help, instead of just watching?”   
“Do what? I can’t code, I don’t even know what language that is.;” Beca retorted. 

“It’s a mixture of c++ and Java along with something I made for myself, I blended my own functions and created software to process it.”

Beca blinked and shook her head at the taller brunette’s antics. “Absolute weirdo.”

“Why are you putting so much effort into this anyway? You’re not made of money, last I checked, and psychic’s charge;” Beca pointed out. 

Stacie groaned and hammered the backspace button furiously, her eyes didn’t leave the screen as she began her explanation. “The priestess lady, or whatever, had details I didn’t share. Not even online. She couldn’t have known where I wanted to go to grad school, what I did on my last date, none of it.”

“So, now you’re doing an experiment to see if one person was lying to you? By possibly paying a dozen other people to lie to you?” Beca reiterated. 

“A dozen isn’t a good sample size, Beca;” Stacie stated. 

“How many psychics did you hire Stacie;” Beca gawped. 

“If the sample size isn’t at least one hundred it’s not a viable study,” Stacie replied. 

“Stacie!” Beca shouted. 

Stacie stopped typing and turned around to consider her friend. “I know it doesn’t make a lot of sense to you but I just have to know okay?” 

“Why no one else knows, why do you have to?” Beca raised a fair question, one that Stacie had been asking herself. Her tiny friend was right, no one else knows what fate has in store for them. Why does she feel the need to?

“I guess, I’m scared,” Stacie admitted. “I’ve never been in a relationship and my dating life has been absolutely terrible, I mean, my sex life is phenomenal don’t get me wrong, but I don’t know how to do this. If I have one person, only one. As statistically improbable as it is, I just need to know how real that is because it’s a variable I can prepare for. I see this girl in my dreams Becs and I’m always so happy. I just, I need to know so I don’t fuck it up.” 

Beca gently pried the laptop from Stacie’s clutches and settled in the spot beside the taller girl. They sat in silence for a moment as Beca pondered what to tell her friend, she wasn’t particularly mystical like Lily, or free-spirited as Fat Amy, but she knew Stacie. She knew what kind of person Stacie was, she had seen the girl through all her disastrous crushes and Beca had to agree. Stacie was right, it always seemed off. Every almost relationship the taller girl had gotten into had been plagued by self-destructive tendencies or just oddly impractical circumstances. If there was a plan or sense of fate, then it definitely had pulled in Stacie’s romantic life. Or lack thereof. 

“How much money do you need?” Beca sighed. 

“Wait, what?” Stacie stammered. 

“How much money do you need, I’m trying to be a supportive friend. Take it now before I change my mind, I -” Beca didn’t get to finish her sentence because Stacie had sprung forward to wrap the ting girl in her arms. 

“Thank you so much, I applied for some grants as well! So that should help cover it.” 

“You what? Stacie, your study isn’t linked to any universities, how -” 

“Can you help send these emails, it’s the same message over and over. We can’t contaminate the evidence. I also want to check the soulmate sketch market since I have a clear image of what she’s supposed to look like.” 

“Stacie, you don’t remember faces;” Beca reminded her friend.

“Oh, I remember hers,” Stacie informed her, something that was brand new information to the DJ. 

“You remember her face?” Beca exclaimed.

“Yup, I’ve seen it since I was fifteen so I would hope so.” 

“Stacie, you confused a moving man for your mom;” Beca recounted. 

“I know her face, trust me;” Stacie said resolutely. The conviction in the taller girl’s blue/green eyes was enough to convince Beca. 

“I’ll grab my laptop, you can send me an email with the message you need me to send.” 

Stacie squealed with delight as her friend pulled out a laptop and set to work. Begin operation Fact or Fiction.


	5. Anything but Despereaux - Misadventures of Domesticity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe and Beca find a mouse. Staubrey to the rescue, sort of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by true events.

The day started out pretty normal. Chloe made lunch, threw the trash out, hummed along to ‘Price tag’, and thought of what to do on her next date with Beca. The tiny DJ was playing with one of her mixes and Chloe went to take out her earbuds before asking the brunette a question when she heard it. A rattle, a scamper, and a squeak. Chloe stopped for a second, concerned. “Becs!” Chloe shouted.

Beca paid her no mind, the large headphones were quite efficient in canceling out noise. Chloe looked around before finding an apple nearby and tossing it at the back of Beca’s chair. Misfiring, Chloe managed to nail Beca directly in the back of the head. 

“Ow!” Beca yelped. 

Massaging her head, she lowered the headphones and turned to face her anxious girlfriend. “What?” 

“I thought I heard something,” Chloe hissed. 

The scrabbling sounded again and this time Beca froze, eyes wide. “Dude, what the fuck.”

“Right! What do we do?” Chloe whined. 

“I don’t know! My Mom took care of the pests back in Seattle,” Beca replied. 

“Becs I can’t even kill the roaches, this sounds bigger than a roach.”

Beca stood and approached the area where the noise had emanated from. The scratching of nails on plastic sounded again from beneath the countertop, so Beca pulled open the drawer for the garbage bin just in time to scream and leap backward. 

“It’s a rat!” Beca shouted. 

The rodent had made a mighty leap, its nose several inches below the lip of the garbage bin. Chloe peered in and cooed. 

“Aw, it’s so tiny!” Chloe leaned in a bit more to get a closer look. “I don’t think it’s a rat Becs, I think it’s a mouse.” 

“Well, do we call the exterminator or something?” Beca inquired. 

“That’s two hundred bucks for one mouse, babe;” Chloe pointed out. “Why don’t we just release it?” 

“What? So it can scamper back and haunt us, no way.” Beca said vehemently. 

“Well I’m not killing it;” Chloe stated. 

“Chlo, we can’t just let it run around our place, it could chew on wires and start a fire;” Beca informed the redhead. Praying that the ginger would do it. 

“No way, I’m not killing anything that cute.” Chloe crossed her arms and thought for a moment before her eyes widened and she pulled her phone out of her back pocket. 

“Let’s call Aubrey, she’ll know what to do!”

Beca opened her mouth to protest Aubrey’s presence on reflex but thought better of it this time. The blonde would definitely know what to do, especially since Aubrey was a southern girl. The southerner was a little too good a shot for her to have only hit inanimate objects. 

The phone rang for a moment before the line was picked up. “Aubrey Posen, speaking.” 

“You know who I am Bree, I don’t know why you answer the phone like that;” Chloe sighed. 

“Sorry, habit. What’s up Chlo?” Aubrey asked. 

“We have a small situation and need some advice,” Chloe hedged. She had just realized that she was about to tell the most organized and neat person in existence that her apartment had a rodent infestation. 

“Sounds serious, what’s going on?” 

“Um, we may have an uninvited furry guest?” Chloe murmured. 

“Chloe, did you grab a dog off the street with worms, again?” Aubrey groaned. 

“Hey, I said uninvited, and how was I supposed to know the dog had worms. He was super friendly and deserved a loving home.” 

“Fine, so what is it this time? Kittens in your car engine? Dog hopped into your apartment? A particularly fluffy duck?”

“Can I finish?” Chloe frowned, there was no need to bring up past incidents. It’s not her fault animals are cute and always seem to wind up in her apartment. 

Aubrey fell silent, waiting. “Okay, thank you. For your information, it’s a mouse and it’s in my trashcan.” 

“You have a rodent infestation?” Aubrey yelled into the phone. 

Chloe winced and held the phone away from her ear, “it’s only one mouse Bree.” She replied, hoping that would make it better.

“Did they crawl through the toilet pipes, because that happened to my Aunt once and we just flushed it?” 

“What? No! Wait, they can do that?” Chloe exclaimed, horrified. 

“Yes, Chloe, they can do that. Usually, you have to get a special flap or pipe installed that stops the rats from crawling up. Although big cities usually have those automatically.” Aubrey rattled off a couple of other horrifying details about creatures and plumbing before Chloe finally remembered her point. 

“Aubrey, help us. We don’t know what to do with the mouse. Do we call animal control or something?” 

Chloe’s hope was instantly squished when she heard Aubrey start laughing her, something is going to die, laugh. Chloe had gone on one hunting trip with Aubrey and that particular laugh was permanently etched into her brain. 

“Chlo, you have to kill it.”

“Um, no? It’s cute and I don’t kill things,” Chloe remarked. 

“Have Beca do it.” Beca, who had been listening in silence up to that point, immediately scowled at the phone. 

“No way, I’m not killing it. What if it bites me? I’m not getting black death because of a mouse.” 

“Well actually, the black death was caused by rats and passed through the fleas that were on the rats, not necessarily the rats themselves,” Stacie chimed in from the other line. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be at work right now?” Beca retorted. 

“Hey, why wouldn’t I also be at work?” Aubrey snapped, “Why is my workday less important than Stacie’s?” 

“Babe, it’s probably because Stacie is researching a bunch of important stuff involving clean energy sources and physics, while you just do civil suits for fortune 500 companies.” 

“Aca-Scuse me?” 

“It’s alright babe, you still look really hot in a suit,” Stacie’s tone took on a flirtatious tone as Beca and Chloe caught a muffled reply. Suddenly slight wet sounds came from the other side of the phone and Beca started blushing. 

“Dude! Stop making out and help us!” Beca shrieked her face a brilliant shade of red. 

The sounds paused for a moment as a hushed conversation filtered through. Unable to make it all out, Beca debated gouging her ears out. It seemed to be just her luck that only the inappropriate comments made their way through the line. 

“Alright, we’re coming over;” Aubrey said. 

“Wait, what?” Chloe stammered. It still sometimes astounded her that her best friend, who was a complete prude in the beginning, could match Stacie “the Hunter” Conrad at dirty talk. 

“We’re coming over, give us a bit!” Aubrey reiterated. 

“Might take us longer than a bit,” Stacie chuckled before the line went dead. 

“Uh, are they?” Beca muttered. 

“Do you really have to ask?” Chloe smirked. 

…

It was three hours later when Stacie and Aubrey arrived. Three hours of Chloe and Beca watching the Mouse persistently jump in an attempt to make a break for it. Chloe had begun to wonder whether it was better to just dump the mouse out and text Aubrey, ‘Nevermind’, when the doorbell rang. Beca sprang up to get it, swinging the door open, she was immediately wrapped up in a hug by Stacie. 

“Hey Beca,” Stacie greeted her tiny friend. 

“Hey,” Beca choked out between Stacie’s tight embrace. 

“Hobbit,” Aubrey said with a smile. 

“Posen,” Beca replied with narrowed eyes. 

Both girls laughed before giving each other quick hugs. “So, where’s the mouse? Still in the garbage can?” Aubrey inquired. 

“Yeah, he’s just jumping right now.” Beca guided them over to the drawer with the garbage can in it. The sounds of hopping droned on.  
“Stace, got the stuff?” Aubrey asked. 

Stacie nodded and pulled out a small glass vial with some mysterious goop in it. “I finally got to use my chemistry skills,” Stacie said happily. 

“Dude, you’re gonna evil queen the rat?” Beca gasped. 

“Evil queen? What? And I thought it was a mouse,” Stacie grumbled. 

“Evil Queen, like from Snow White, with the poison?” Beca explained, “Chloe has been making me watch too many Disney movies.” 

“Ooh, let’s watch Tangled after this,” Chloe chirped. 

“What about Ratatouille?” Stacie smirked. 

Aubrey smacked Stacie in the arm, “You’re terrible.” The blonde said while holding back a smile.

“You love it,” Stacie winked. 

… 

When Aubrey and Stacie set to work on the mouse Chloe and Beca lingered around, curious to see what the tincture would do. However, if they had the option to go back and change what was about to happen they absolutely would have. Because the rat poison didn’t work, and that meant that they had to do it the Aubrey way. Which was a lot less scientific, and a lot less humane. 

“Stace, you lost the bet, your chemicals didn’t work;” Aubrey said cheerily. 

“Fine, you get choice of our nightly activity,” Stacie sighed, “I was really looking forward to -” 

“Did you guys bet on who would kill the rat better? And did you make the winner a sex thing?” Beca bellowed.

“What? It’s my day off, Aubrey and I were going to be spending all day in bed anyway, but we decided to help. You should be thanking us,” Stacie exclaimed. 

“You made a sex bet on mouse killing technique,” Beca spluttered. 

“Meh,” Stacie shrugged while Aubrey ignored Beca’s protestation in favor of pulling the extendable nightstick out of the bag that Stacie brought. “Sorry Despereaux, time to say night- night;” Aubrey hummed. 

“Aubs, you can’t name it and then -” 

WHACK

Chloe screamed and darted out of the room, hands over her head as a series of bangs came. The scrabbling got faster and the smack of solid carbon plastic hitting the garbage can increased in speed as well. Beca immediately spun around and power walked to her shared bedroom with Chloe as Stacie shouted directions at Aubrey over the blonde’s shoulder. 

…

Chloe and Beca didn’t really know how long they stayed in their room but they were finally released by the light sound of knocking on their bedroom door. “You can come out now!” Stacie informed them.

“Yeah, cuz you killed him!” Beca yelled back. 

Chloe opened the door and waited for Beca to follow her out, both peeking around to see Aubrey tying off a garbage bag. “I don’t think I can ever look at Aubrey the same ever again,” Beca muttered. 

“Now imagine going on a hunting trip with her, she’s terrifying,” Chloe said solemnly. 

“Alright, we got the body in the bag and now we’ll just be tossing him out,” Aubrey stated as she tossed the bag over her shoulder. 

“Wanna watch a movie after I throw this out?” The blonde offered. 

“Sure, just um…” Chloe hesitated for a moment, wincing. 

“Anything but Despereaux.”


	6. Nothing Compares to You - Red Courts and Succubi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stacie remembers her 1920s night with Aubrey. 
> 
> **** This Chapter is very explicit. WARNING: A lot of mention of blood, death, gore, sex both m/f and f/f, murder, general disregard for human life. Did I mention sex?

They had been dancing around each other for weeks, something that their friends had started to notice. Despite their heart to heart atop the roof, Aubrey seemed to have little interest in getting to know Stacie again. Which left Stacie idly sitting at a bar, looking for her next meal while Aubrey congregated with her vampire cohorts for a plan of defense against Queen Luciana's enemies. 

Stacie's concentration was only broken when Beca approached and took the seat beside her. “Dude, what are you doing here?” 

“I’m hungry,” Stacie shrugged. A couple was eyeing her from a corner booth, and she knew that if she fed on both of them in moderation they’d both likely survive.  
“You really shouldn’t feed on humans,” Beca reminded her. 

“I haven’t killed anyone Bec’s, it’s just a meal. Besides, humans have such ease of access. I haven’t had a good aura in a while.”

“You mean since the early nineteen hundreds,” Beca sighed. “You never really got over that girl, huh? Did you ever find her?” 

“Work in progress,” Stacie groaned, just the memory had her eyes glowing a brilliant Fuschia before they faded back to their regular sea green. 

“So that’s a no then?” Beca chuckled. 

“I didn’t say that,” Stacie snorted. Beca’s jaw dropped as her mind whirred to life. 

“So you did find her?” 

“Something of the sort." 

"Something of the sort?" The werewolf inquired.

“I found her, kind of;” Stacie smiled softly as the memory of her latest conversation with Aubrey filled her mind. 

“What does sort of, mean?” 

“Well, she doesn’t remember me;” Stacie muttered. 

Beca’s eyes widened, “Wait, you mean the girl you said, and I quote, was the best sex of your existence, doesn’t remember you?” 

“I know, it sucks,” Stacie groaned. “It just means I have to remind her, although I don’t know how I’m going to do that. She doesn’t seem to want a repeat performance, she’s worried about her control around me.” 

“Is control an issue for her?” Beca hedged. 

“She may have been responsible for a multitude of deaths throughout the early eighteen hundreds,” Stacie admitted. 

“Stacie, you can’t risk something like that. If I knew she struggled with blood haze I would never have supported your need to find her.” 

“She’s not like that anymore Beca, besides she doesn’t seem too keen on touching me lately anyway, even though she was really good at it” Stacie pouted. 

“Gross,” Beca grimaced, “Maybe it’s for the best. You don’t want to test fate twice, just because you’re a succubus, doesn’t mean you should play games with a haze-vampire’s control.” 

Stacie frowned at her friend’s words, a deep urge to roll her eyes bit at the back of her mind as Beca continued to prattle on about alternatives. The thing is, Stacie had felt something with Aubrey even if the blonde had forgotten that night, something deeper had happened between them than just another meal. While the conversation on the rooftop was light and teasing as the two women danced around each other, Stacie had the same intense pull towards the other woman. The muscles in Stacie's cheeks had begun to wear as she continued to smile through the women's conversation. While the current version of Aubrey didn't have the same dangerous attitude, this Aubrey still had the same pull for Stacie. In fact, the infinite differences from the Aubrey that Stacie had met in the roaring twenties only piqued the brunette's interest in the vampire. 

…  
1920s Russia:

Stacie had staged a party in the Kremlin for anyone that was able to attend. She was only twenty at the time and she had reached the equivalent of succubus maturity. Which is to say, her libido was off the charts. Left to her own devices, Anastacia as she had been known then, was wont to do whatever she wanted should the whim occur to her. If that included half of the Russian population, so be it. 

It was at one of her parties that she met, Aubrey, the vampire that would change her life. 

Stacie had been glutting herself on a multitude of nobles from across the continent when she felt a new presence. She had been carefully stoking the flames of the party’s atmosphere, pushing the sexual tension up to the breaking point. Men and women were in various states of debauchery all over the building. Copulating in any room, nook, cranny, or on any form of furniture, they could find. Yet, this feeling was new. This wasn’t fully sex, there was something else to it. An edge. 

Stacie followed the pull of the new aura all the way into a room. The door was shut tight and no amount of human strength could open it. Looking both ways, Stacie’s eyes glowed Fuschia and the door gave. Swinging open, Stacie was met with a view that was quite new. Blood was streaked across the bed and three bodies laid prone on the deep green carpets. The four-poster bed was occupied with three more people, one was a man who was persistently sucking at a one woman’s neck. The woman in question had her lips attached to another woman’s throat, blood leaking from beneath the woman’s lips.  
The man didn’t cease his ministrations, obliviously pumping into the naked woman as she continued to feed on her latest victim. The vampire had long blonde hair and creamy skin, she lapped eagerly at the ebbing blood flow. When the woman finally ran dry the body was dumped onto the floor and the vampire looked up, eyes a deep blood red and fangs pressing into crimson lips. Stacie’s focus was broken by the sound of the man moaning, the energy in the room stretching slightly as she breathed it in. Looking up, the blonde’s eyes met Stacie’s. 

Before Stacie could blink the man has pushed away with one hand while his neck was snapped with the other. The blond studied Stacie imperiously as the man’s energy withered. “You smell different,” the vampire chuckled. 

“I’m a succubus,” Stacie replied. 

“Do you have a hint of human in you?” The blonde smirked. 

“I wouldn’t mind having a hint of you in me,” Stacie flirted. The vampire laughed. “You’re a spirited one, aren’t you?”

“Something of the sort, although I will request we move to a room with fewer dead bodies. Death really kills the ambiance.” 

The vampire smiled at her, one moment still kneeling on the bed and the next standing directly in front of Stacie, pouty lips pulled up at the corners. “I think I could have a lot of fun with you.” 

...

It didn’t take much time for them to find another room. The vampire, who introduced herself as Aubrey, made short work of Stacie’s clothes. Tearing them apart at the seams as the blonde sucked Stacie’s bottom lip into her mouth. The succubus felt a brush of fangs and a slight nip before Aubrey shoved her hard onto the bed. The small cut on Stacie’s lip was already closing but the blonde’s eyes had turned from a human green to dark burgundy, “God you taste delicious.” The blonde leaned forward to recapture the brunette’s lips, hands wandering along Stacie’s naked body. 

Stacie kissed the other woman back, a spike of arousal settling at the apex of her thighs as Aubrey’s hands dipped where Stacie wanted them. “I’ve never met a succubus before, or at least none as beautiful as you” Aubrey wondered aloud. Stacie quirked an eyebrow at the other woman’s words, but a moan quickly disrupted her comment. Aubrey’s fingers had found the right spot as they were pushed in and out lazily, Stacie brought a hand to Aubrey’s cheek and pulled the girl's lips to hers. The energy between them pulsed and Stacie began to drink it in. 

Succubi could consume sexual energy through a multitude of ways: mouth to mouth, simple touch, or climax. Doing all three was something of a wonder for Stacie since she had mostly fed off of humans which meant she had to check herself constantly. Lest she leaves a trail of the dead like Aubrey had done. Aubrey detached her lips from Stacie as her fangs dropped and the hand between Stacie’s legs sped up. “I want to try something,” Aubrey murmured, lips grazing Stacie’s neck. 

A voice in the back of her head went off, warning against the danger of a vampire feeding on her, but she ignored it. A feeling of mutual trust had seemed to settle between the two, for some reason Stacie knew Aubrey was special. She wouldn't hurt her.

With a gentleness, otherwise not exhibited by the vampire, Aubrey kissed Stacie’s pulse point gently before allowing the point of her fangs to rest against the skin there. “May I?” Aubrey’s request was sweet, almost. Patient. The earlier fervor seemed to slow and Stacie felt the aura around them pulse, stronger than before. “Yes,” Stacie said, her voice almost a whisper. She could feel the blonde’s smile against her neck before another kiss was given and her ministrations sped up once again. This time at vampire speeds, Stacie's keens echoed through the room and into the hallway as her arousal grew. "Look at me," Aubrey ordered. Prying her eyes open, she managed to face the vampire. Aubrey looked deep into Stacie’s eyes and curled her fingers upwards, “let it go,” the blonde hummed. The vampire’s compulsion was strong and Stacie felt her release begin just as Aubrey leaned forward and sunk her teeth into Stacie’s neck. Stacie saw white, her eyes glowed and she sucked in as well. Absorbing more energy from Aubrey than she ever did with anyone before. 

The power a succubus had over pleasure meant that Aubrey climaxed just as hard as the woman beneath her. Despite her habits, Aubrey forced herself to retract her fangs before licking the brunette’s wound closed. Aubrey raised her head to say something to Anastacia but found the other succubus's eyes closed, breathing even. For a moment the haze cleared and Aubrey, the real Aubrey, came back to herself.

Her eyes widened, staring at the face before her. Then the scent of blood clouded her senses and she felt a strong urge to bite and tear. Jerking backward, Aubrey shook her head vigorously and got dressed at lightning speed. Questions came to mind as she wondered how many people she had killed this time. How was she going to escape the force of Hunters that would definitely be pursuing her? What about the girl she was leaving behind? Pushing the thoughts from her mind once more, Aubrey turned to look over her shoulder at the slumbering woman, then streaked from the room. Telling herself to pretend the previous night never happened.

… 

Of course, Stacie hadn’t known about that last look, so she remained oblivious to the blonde’s lies. After all, how could she know that Aubrey would remember the slumbering girl’s face for the next century? 

...

Stacie sat brooding over Aubrey’s refusal to get reacquainted, the bodies around her felt practically stale in comparison. When Aubrey had left that one night a century ago, Stacie had searched everywhere for the blonde, unable to find the vampire she had wondered if the vampire’s sun curse had worn off yet. Most of the vampires she met had to hide from the sun for a decade before their magic strengthened enough and became a simple light sensitivity. Stacie had seen plenty of the older ones strolling through the streets of Moscow in their best finery. Yet she had also met plenty of young vampires in the shadiest of speakeasies that never surfaced until the fall of the sun. 

But she never met Aubrey again to ask these questions. Instead, the blonde’s green eyes seemed to circulate Stacie’s psyche, invading her most lascivious dreams. Often soiling whatever experience Stacie had thereafter since nothing ever truly compared. The brunette consulted warlocks and seers, begging for a consult, but often when the magic users saw the first image of the blonde their lips sealed and they shoved her out of their homes. 

After searching for a century, Stacie was thrilled to find her mystery woman at a party Beca had invited her to. Yet, what was she going to do if the blonde didn’t remember her? Most of all, what was she going to do if Aubrey didn’t want to? 

...

“What’s her name anyway?” Beca inquired in the last-ditch effort to learn something about her friend’s much sought-after mystery crush. 

Stacie hesitated a moment before seeming to come to a decision, eyeing Beca objectively, she said; “Aubrey, it’s Aubrey.” 

“What!” Beca barked, “You’ve got the hots for Posen? Stick up her ass Posen?” 

“Yeah, why? What’s the big deal?” 

“Nothing, it’s just I didn’t know she was ever a blood reaper, that’s weird. No wonder she’s such a control freak, I guess when you’re always about to kill someone, you’d be edgy too.” 

“She’s not a control freak Beca,” Stacie said, sticking up for the blonde. 

“Oh, she definitely is. It’s definitely gotten worse since her father went nuts though;” Beca countered. 

“Who’s her father?” Stacie asked. 

“Alaric, The Baron of Blood and Terror. If I remember correctly, he was one of the original reapers. Guess it runs in the sire line.” 

Stacie's thought process stalled. Well shit, Aubrey’s sire was the man who had started the Third great Fae War. Stacie winced, she was going to have her work cut out for her.


	7. Stacie the Secret Genius - Domestic Misadventures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seven times people were surprised about Stacie’s Intelligence and the one time its someone’s favorite thing about her

_ BECA _

So, it was a well-known fact amongst the Barden Bellas that Stacie was not the sharpest knife in the drawer. When she wasn’t out partying at the various frat houses, she was lounging around the Bella common area filing her nails and perusing gossip magazines. If Beca were being honest she was surprised that the girl hadn’t caught some form of venereal disease as of yet, well again that is.

Beca groaned in dissatisfaction as her computer froze again. Her software had been on the fritz for the past week and it was getting in the way of their arrangements. Sighing, Beca pressed the power button to shut the laptop down once more. Her deep sigh seemed to catch the leggy brunette’s attention, however, causing the girl in question to look up from her own laptop. 

“Something wrong?” Stacie inquired. The girl looked like a model despite wearing sweatpants and a tank top, black-rimmed glasses perched on her nose. 

“My laptop has been on the fritz for the past week and it’s driving me nuts. I would buy a new one but I really don’t have the money, maybe I can get Benji to look at it?”

Stacie pursed her lips for a moment as if debating something internally before she stood up and came to a stop beside Beca. The DJ watched dubiously as Stacie awkwardly leaned down and hesitated before touching Beca’s laptop. 

“Go ahead,” Beca agreed, pushing the computer in Stacie’s direction lightly before crossing her arms in trepidation. 

Stacie pulled the chair out beside Beca and sat, leaning over the machine as her hair formed a curtain between Beca’s gaze and the screen. Beca waited as the taller girl pulled up the command prompt and the file history on the computer. Typing away furiously, the next hour passed quickly as Stacie worked. 

It took a moment but Stacie soon turned the computer in Beca’s direction with the music software open and ready to go. “It should work now, I got rid of some of the extraneous files to speed up your processing speed, and I also installed a better security and cleaning program. You were just using the one that the computer came with and that’s never enough. If you need any more help you can ask, but for now, this should do. You really should get an extra hard drive though.”

Beca gawked at Stacie’s matter-of-fact attitude, she had never seen the airhead so factual in her life. “Um, yeah, got it;” Beca stuttered. Stacie offered Beca a small smile before returning to her seat on the couch. Beca stared for a moment before shaking her head and returning to what she had been doing. Filing the information away for later. 

_ CHLOE _

So Chloe was most definitely studying, or at least that’s what she was telling herself. If she were being honest she was actually staring at the back of a very familiar girl’s head. Now, Chloe was not losing her mind but she could have sworn that the person sitting at the table ten feet away was Stacie Conrad. Self-proclaimed bimbo of the Barden Bellas. 

The girl’s proclivity for sexual comments and complete disregard of a filter, paired with her openly admitted habits of cuticle care and the E! Network did not suggest an inkling of book smarts. Yet there Stacie was, hunched over a book with a large stack of literature beside her. 

If Chloe was dreaming she needed to wake up right now, especially since the brunette seemed to have a penchant for reading that could rival a certain anal-retentive blonde that Chloe knew. 

Chloe shuffled parallel to the Stacie look-alike, checking for a telltale difference that had to be there, but only was met by the sight of very familiar cleavage and the focused expression of one Stacie Conrad. Weird. Then again, the universe could hardly be so kind to two girls in Barden. Stacie’s aphrodite-Esque appearance was unmatched throughout the university. If there were two, Chloe was sure she would have heard about it. 

As Chloe was checking the girl’s face again for any key differences the brunette looked up and blue eyes met blue/green. “Chloe?” Stacie questioned, the brunette wore her glasses, appearing more like a sexy librarian than an actual student. 

“Stacie! Hi, how are you? I was wondering if that was you,” Chloe greeted the girl as casually as she could manage. 

“Oh, yeah, I’m just doing some light reading for some of my classes,” Stacie said with a shy smile. 

“That’s light?” Chloe chuckled. Her eyes settled on a particularly impressive tome with the words:  _ Quantum Computation and Quantum Information. _

“Oh, yeah. Some of these I’ve already read. I just felt like rereading for old times sake,” Stacie shrugged. 

Chloe opened her mouth to reply but no words came out, her surprise evident. Before the redhead could collect herself Stacie looked at her watch and made a small noise of disquiet. “Shit, I’m going to be late for my date. I’ll see you later Chloe,” Stacie waved goodbye, tucked the stack of books under her arm, and left. 

Chloe stood there dumbly for a moment more, still trying to process the new information. Maybe Stacie wasn’t quite the bimbo she pretended to be. 

_ CYNTHIA ROSE _

Okay, so Stacie was honestly the hottest piece of ass that Cynthia Rose had seen, and she was raised in New York. CR had met plenty of beautiful and talented women in her life there, but Stacie really took the cake. Long legs, a beautiful smile, and shining eyes that switched between blue or green at any given moment. Yet, for all the girl’s beauty, the girl seemed to have been a couple of IQ points short of average. 

Or at least that’s what Cynthia Rose thought until the incident. 

Now, she would never admit this but her gambling problems were causing quite the detriment to her financial state, so when her wallet hit an all-time low she wasn’t able to get the proper hair care products that she had been using for quite some time. So when an especially bad hair day occurred, she was resigned to her fate. After all, what could you do when you were practically out of spending money for the month. 

The endless teasing from Fat Amy was another matter. While she could take the lack of proper care for the month, several consecutive days with Fat Amy’s comments were getting old and Cynthia Rose was tempted to dip into her savings when she was surprised by Stacie’s offer. 

To say that Cynthia Rose was skeptical was an understatement, but having heard briefly from Beca on Stacie’s surprising talents, she was willing to hope for a miracle at this point. It was a gamble, but then again, she was never afraid of placing her bets. So Stacie reconstructed her hair care products using chemicals she managed to find in the school lab and procured mysteriously from Lily. 

It took another week of hassling from Fat Amy but finally, Stacie handed the bottle over with a confident smile. It wasn’t the most prestigious package or branding but what mattered to Cynthia Rose was that it worked, and it did. Cynthia Rose had no clue how, but Stacie had managed to recreate a high-end formula from a bunch of questionably procured chemicals. It was honestly the biggest surprise in CR’s life. Not only did the brunette manage to get Fat Amy off her back, but she was apparently a chemistry genius. 

CR thanked Stacie profusely but the brunette waved her appreciation away with a charming laugh and a comment about enjoying the practice in the lab. To say Cynthia Rose was amazed was an understatement. Maybe she was too quick to judge? If the girl could cook up expensive hair care products in a school lab what other secrets did the girl have?

_ JESSICA  _

Jessica would never say that Stacie was dumb, after all, intelligence has many facets and books were not everything. Yet, maybe Ashley had a point about the girl being two tools short of a complete toolbox. After all, the girl had admitted that she broke her doctor’s “no sex for six weeks” rule. 

So, when it was the first day of her advanced physics class she was more than surprised to find Stacie sitting calmly in the front row, typing furiously on her computer. 

“Um, Stacie?” Jessica greeted demurely. Stacie looked up immediately at the familiar voice, eyes widening for a second in what appeared to be a flash of panic before it settled into an easy smile. The expression flitted across the brunette’s face so quickly that Jessica was unsure on whether she had actually seen what she thought she had seen. 

“You’re taking this class too?” Jessica exclaimed, she tried her best to hide the surprise but from Stacie’s brief eye roll, she didn’t do too well. 

“Oh uh -” Stacie began but her words were cut off by the professor’s entrance. 

“Welcome class, everyone take their seats, my name is Peter Howell and you can call me Mr. Howell or Professor Howell. Your TA for this semester will be Stacie Conrad, her email will be on the syllabus along with her contact info.” 

Jessica’s mouth fell open in surprise at the realization that Stacie was her TA, not only was she, the brunette, in an advanced physics class, but she was the teacher’s assistant, not just a regular student. Stacie flashed Jessica a slightly apologetic grin before standing up and waving to the classroom. When Stacie sat back down Jessica continued to stare at her in a mixture of shock and horror throughout the rest of the class. 

The lecture proceeded with Professor Howell beginning his first lesson after covering the syllabus. Whenever students were unable to answer a question Stacie was the one who filled in the blank, her explanations were delivered so eloquently that Jessica hardly believed that it was the same sexy soprano she had met in freshman year. After all, this was the same girl who referred to her crotch as “The Hunter” there was no way she’d actually be a genius. Right?

When class ended Jessica wanted to talk to Stacie but stopped short when she saw the crowd that had gathered around the other Bella. Thinking better of it, Jessica decided to let Stacie keep her secret, after all, it was none of their business that Stacie wanted to be around them. Hopefully, she’d trust them eventually, but until then Jessica was okay keeping this information to herself. It would be interesting to see the real Stacie for a semester. 

_ ASHLEY _

So Ashley was failing math. It was the middle of the semester and Ashley was absolutely dying in her Calculus II class. If she could trade brains with a math genius at that moment she would, but all she knew how to do was sing, dance, and write. Three skills that honestly had very little to do with math. 

Ashley of course was complaining about this to Jessica when the girl mentioned a tutoring service she has seen advertised around campus. Supposedly one of the honors students had created a small tutoring club that helped other students out for free. It was considered a school learning assistance program so the school often covered the fees. At this point, Ashley was willing to try anything. 

So Ashley called the service and they assigned her the nearest tutor on campus, which so happened to be one of the Bellas. However, which one was the real surprise. When Stacie popped up as the owner of the offered phone number Ashley honestly thought it was a prank. 

“Stacie?” Ashley remarked in mild alarm. 

Jessica shrugged from her place on her bed. They shared a room in the Bella house, their pairing was the most obvious after all. 

“She’s actually really smart. I’m taking advanced physics with her this semester.” Jessica muttered.

Ashley blinked, “You’re what?” 

“Yeah, I’m taking Quantum Mechanics with Stacie,” Jessica’s utterance was met with absolute incredulity as Ashley processed her girlfriend’s words. 

“Is she passing?” Ashley inquired, Jessica snorted in response. 

“Passing? She practically teaches the class, half the things the professor says are absolutely incomprehensible, she knows how to explain it in laymen and scientific terms. It’s actually really impressive,” Jessica’s answer is met by dumbfounded silence as Ashley continued to stare at the blonde, waiting for the other girl to say “psych.” 

“You’re not joking are you?” Ashley gawped. 

“Nope,” Jessica replied, adding a shake of the head. 

When Ashley’s tutoring session arrived Stacie was ready. Dropping a pile of books on the dining room table, the girl’s messy bun and thick-framed glasses were offset by a determined expression that gave Ashley flashbacks to a particular taskmaster from her freshman year. “Let’s get started,” Stacie stated with a fierce determination. 

And get started they did. By the end of the session, Ashley was two bottles of water and a cup of tea while sporting a dull headache. Despite it all, though, she was grasping the infinite series and differential equations a lot better. 

The main question that was really tugging at Ashley’s subconscious through it all was how Stacie was so smart, yet absolutely none of them knew? When Beca had claimed that Stacie fixed her computer Ashley had figured that maybe Stacie was just a savant of sorts. When Chloe had mentioned the physics textbooks Ashley had waved it off as Chloe seeing things. Even when Cynthia Rose had somehow managed to get her hair care product Ashley was sure that Lily had more to do with it than Stacie. Yet now? Now Ashley was feeling dumber by the second next to her fellow Bella.

As Stacie continued to drill her on calculus formulas, Ashley made a note to discuss theories with Jessica later on just how high Stacie’s possible IQ was. After all, there was no way in hell that anyone else in the house was smart enough to be feeding Stacie half of this information, which meant it was absolutely not a prank. 

_ FAT AMY _

Stacie was hot, Fat Amy knew that, but if you had asked her if Stacie was smart she would have replied absolutely not. That is until she found out that Stacie could calculate the exact timing of any object meeting its destination at will at all times. How did she discover this particular talent of Stacie’s you may ask? Well, that was quite an interesting tale.

It was lightly snowing in Georgia at the beginning of the Spring semester and Fat Amy was cold. Freezing in fact, yet she was quite thrilled about all the snow considering all the snowballs she could hit people with. However, the speed at which she could hit people was severely lacking, so what did she do? She commissioned the robotics club for a special snowball throwing machine. Something the nerds in question rushed to make at Fat Amy’s request, hoping to gain an invitation to one of the many parties that the Barden Bellas were invited to. 

When the machine was ready the geeky boys crowded about and attempted to explain the machine’s functionality but their instructions seemed to slip in one ear and out the other. Apparently, the club member that actually made the blueprints of most of the machine and knew the finer details of its creation wasn’t present at that time. Their stuttering voices were hardly attention-grabbing so Fat Amy just nodded along until they finally shut up.

Fat Amy wound up bringing the machine home in a little toy wagon where the other Bellas crowded about and asked her a series of questions that the blonde was unable to truly answer. It was only when Ashley, or was it Jessica, picked up the remote and hit a series of buttons that Fat Amy was forced to pay attention. 

The machine’s screen had changed from a self-proclaimed easy “Automated mode” to a much harder “Manual mode.” Manual mode required Fat Amy to know the exact amount of joules required for each toss. So when Fat Amy took it outside to throw snowballs at passing twig bitches, the balls fell short or launched way too far for Fat Amy’s liking. It was only when Fat Amy verbally groused about how many joules does it take to hit a car going twenty miles per hour from twenty feet away that Stacie spoke. 

Spouting an oddly specific number that Fat Amy would never have come up with, Fat Amy entered the numbers into the machine and waited in the same position. Curious to see if the brunette’s calculations were correct. When a car rounded the bend Fat Amy launched the ball, the snowy sphere arched in the air before smacking loudly into the driver’s side window with enough impact to crack the glass. 

After a quick panic where Fat Amy did some quick vertical running, she hid the machine in the house’s closet before approaching Stacie with the news that her calculations were correct, also to inquire into procuring money to replace the belligerent man’s windshield. 

After that awkward conversation, Fat Amy made sure to commit Stacie’s newfound superpowers to memory. After all, what could they accomplish together next time Fat Amy wants to launch something into the sky?

_ LILY _

Lily knew Stacie was smart, her background check had shown as much, In fact, Lily knew that Stacie was a certifiable genius that only went to Barden because she wanted to piss off her wealthy grandparents. 

When Stacie and Lily talked late into the night they discovered a lot about each other. Lily learned that Stacie wasn’t an idiot and Stacie learned that Lily could indeed speak over a whisper with little to no issue. Yet, Lily had no clue just how “genius” Stacie was until a small issue involving a small incendiary device. 

Now, Lily was not responsible for this particular creation but she had helped supply the chemicals to a particularly idiotic chemistry student. So when she mentioned the obscure chemical components offhand to Stacie, she was surprised to learn that Stacie knew of them and the particular combination they provide could blow up at least twenty of the two hundred dorms in that building. Not a good idea overall. 

Lily quickly called the customer she had provided the chemicals for, hastily handing the phone to the brunette as the taller girl explained the situation. Apparently, the boy was just about to add the last chemical when they called, thankfully he immediately dropped the container and ceased his experiment, horrified at what he had almost done. 

After thanking Stacie profusely, the boy had sworn off chemistry and claimed he was switching his major to art like he actually wanted and that his parents would simply deal with it. Once he hung up Stacie turned to Lily with a bemused look and handed the phone back to her. “Next time you sell chemicals I suggest you check with me first. I’d prefer the campus stays in one piece,” 

Lily shrugged in agreement and made a mental note to check with Stacie before any chemical transactions. Wouldn’t want to be indirectly responsible for a bomb, again. 

_ AUBREY _

Aubrey knew Stacie was smart, after all, she had read the girl’s audition file. An idiot did not sign up for a Physics and Engineering double major with minors in Chemistry and Mathematics. That winning combination was simply not possible. Especially since Aubrey checked Stacie’s academic standing and the girl was already a Junior credit-wise. The leggy brunette was impressive. 

So when Stacie revealed her interests to be the E! Network and cuticle care, Aubrey brushed it off as a simple nervous remark. A mask of sorts. After all, if anyone knew about defense mechanisms Aubrey did. Especially since her upbringing had basically been one big predecessor for the defense mechanism that was her entire personality. It was with this prior knowledge that she began her relationship with Stacie Conrad. 

They started during hood night and continued in secret throughout the rest of Stacie’s freshman year. At first, it had been casual but feelings had quickly caught up to the both of them and after some somewhat mutual panicking, they figured things out. So when Aubrey graduated they had already settled into something of a routine because just as much as Aubrey was a big planner, Stacie was a mathematical genius that could plan a schedule better than any current AI program. 

They’re sitting in bed together reading, Stacie’s head rests on Aubrey’s shoulder as her eyes flit across the page. 

“Why do you like me?” The brunette blurts out. Her eyes are still on the page so Aubrey hesitates for a moment, wondering if she imagined the question. 

“Huh,” Aubrey hums in confusion.

“Why do you like me?” Stacie repeat

“What’s not to like?” Aubrey shrugs in answer. 

“Well except for my exceptionally sizeable pectoralis major, a talent for absolute pitch, adeptness for kinesthesiology, and statistically preferable aesthetic, I really don’t know.” Stacie huffs in reply, her eyes haven’t left her book which is endlessly amusing to Aubrey. 

The blonde gently closes the book in Stacie’s hands after closing her own and tilts Stacie’s chin to better look at the brunette’s face. “I love when you talk nerdy to me,” Aubrey teases. 

The accompanying pout only makes Aubrey smile more, the strong urge to kiss her girlfriend filling her chest. “Love is just a flood of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. Those chemicals can be supplied by anyone, especially any high-end drug dealer.”

“Stacie -” Aubrey begins but Stacie cuts her off with a quick look and continues. 

“I’ve just been thinking lately that in all the vastness of the universe do you think I’m the one? Or at least statistically likely to be one of your “ones?”

Aubrey struggles to hold back her smile of amusement but listens patiently as Stacie continues to ramble on about the vastness of the universe and the totality of space and time versus the statistical probability of romantic relationships surviving each year. She loves the way the girl’s eyes seem to come to life when discussing any scientific topic, even when that topic might contradict a hope for a future forever between them. 

“So why do you like me? What’s your source of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin? I want to know so I don’t change it or anything, and -” Aubrey cut off Stacie’s next sentence with a kiss, unable to fight the urge any longer. 

Stacie pulls back for a second but Aubrey pushes forward, cupping the other girl's cheek as the kiss is deepened. 

“I love you, everything about you,” Aubrey whispers out between each kiss. “I love the way you sound when you’re nervous, I love when you sing, I love your laugh, and the way you poke your tongue out when you’re thinking. I love the color of your eyes and how I don’t really know if they’re actually green or blue. I love your thoughts on the world and how excited you get when you express them. I love how you read anything and everything you can get your hands on. I love the way you love me, all the small gestures and all the big ones. I love the way we argue because you’re the first person I’ve felt secure with, and I know that I will come back to bed each night and hold you no matter how angry we get. I love you for all your hair-brained schemes with Lily, and all your enabling with Fat Amy. I love that you’re so smart and so kind.”

Aubrey had switched to light pecks as she smattered kisses across Stacie’s face. The feeling of wetness leaving trails down a pale cheek is not lost on her as she confesses every reason she loves the woman in her arms. “I love your wit and your jokes. Yes, I love your boobs and your body as a whole but I love the mind it holds the most. I love how creative you are in and outside of the bedroom. I love the sex and I love the intimacy of our other moments. Most of all, I love how you turn on your science brain every time you get insecure because it’s honestly the most adorable thing I have ever heard and I don’t think I have ever felt so endeared by the word norepinephrine in my life.”

“I love you,” Stacie whispers against Aubrey’s mouth as she captures the blonde’s lips with her own. 

“I love you too and I promise I will continue to love you forever. Your intelligence is my favorite thing and I can’t wait to see all the things we can learn together,” Aubrey murmurs back. They both smile into the kiss as they pull each other closer, celebrating the future they’ve promised to each other. 


	8. Things to Do: Aubrey Posen - Domestic Misadventures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why Stacie joined the Barden Bellas and the entire domestic adventure series started.

It was funny really, how much Stacie used to dream of a prince or princess charming. She remembered the days when she was young, gallivanting across the playground as she dreamt of a happily ever that would never come. Back when her parents loved each other, back when her father was alive. 

She knew exactly where her issues stemmed from. If it wasn’t the endless spectating of her parent’s failed marriage, as she watched two people who used to love each other prove over and over that past love wasn’t enough, it was definitely the final metaphorical and literal nail in the coffin when her father died. Because even if you break it off there is nevertheless an empty space in your heart where that person was relocated if that person should die. Or be murdered, in Stacie’s father’s case. 

Now, Stacie’s mother would condemn Stacie’s viewpoint, the point of contact that caused Robert Conrad’s death was vehicular manslaughter, but Stacie deemed it murder nonetheless. Regardless of semantics such as a degree. After all, the man had decided to operate a moving vehicle while high off of cocaine and shrooms through his own volition. Now he would sit in rehab, while Stacie sits on a cemetery bench on the same day every year.

She promised herself that she’d never let anything hurt her that much again. After all, no one could hurt you if they never really knew the real you, to begin with. So she dumbed herself down, she became banal and flighty. Hiding her good grades from her peers as she replaced her emotional needs with physical ones. Her reputation preceding her as she developed a loose attitude towards sex and relationships. 

Everything worked out, she found someone passably attractive, she had sex, then she moved on. When some of the football team claimed to be a notch in her bedpost as well she didn’t really care, after all, she wasn’t overly attached to anyone so it's not as though their opinions mattered. High school was a breeze, she was invited to all the parties, all the nosier girls thought they had her figured out because of her dumb bimbo routine so they never pried, and even when they did she was able to shut them up by relating some inane sex story that she didn’t particularly care about. 

When college came around, she expected to do much of the same as she did in high school. Have sex, study, get above average grades despite everyone’s preconceived idea of who she is, don’t get attached. Yet, when she found out that the grad school she wanted to apply for required extracurriculars, Stacie decided to up her game. 

Acapella was not Stacie’s intention at all, but her advisors suggested she try to round out her application in something that wasn’t science-related. Since apparently none of her accomplishments showed a “well-rounded applicant.”   
When MIT and Georgia Tech started giving a damn about the arts, Stacie had no idea, but they wanted to see something more artistically creative and collaborative. So when Stacie saw a gorgeous blond girl hanging up posters outside of her classroom Stacie’s interest was piqued. She knew she could sing fairly well and the dance lessons that her Mother had enrolled her definitely would come in use, so she saw no harm in applying. Especially if the Barden Bellas could get her closer to the beautiful blonde in question. 

…

The auditions went as expected, Stacie’s ego undoubtedly boosted by the way that Aubrey, the girl who had hung up the poster, seemed to stare at her as she walked up onto the stage. The look had been tinged with a want that was familiar to Stacie. A look that spurred on Stacie’s new plan. Where before her to-do list included classwork, extracurriculars, and previously unidentified sexual trysts. Now, Aubrey Posen was at the top of her things to do, and the Hunter was very excited.


End file.
